Ryanair has been ordered to refund a passenger £124 after charging them for hand luggage, which a Spanish court ruled to be an essential part of air travel.
The air traveller will be reimbursed for hand luggage costs charged on five flights between 2019 and 2024 following the judgement at a Salamanca court that their bags should not have incurred additional fees.
The judge based her decision on a 2014 decision by a top EU court which stated that hand luggage ‘must, in principle, be considered an indispensable element of passenger transport and that its carriage cannot, therefore, be subject to a price supplement.’
The passenger’s claim was backed by Spanish consumer rights organisation Facua, which has helped to secure a number of legal victories for clients in recent months.
It is just the latest case in a long-running battle between Spanish lawmakers and no-frills airlines, which transport millions of Brits to sunny holiday destinations in the country every year.
In October, Ryanair was fined and ordered to pay the legal fees for two customers who had not foreseen the cost when they bought their tickets.
The passengers, who had paid for four flights with the carrier, complained that at check-in the airline charged them an additional €96 for ‘carry-on baggage.’
Spanish lawyer Isaac Guijarro, who represented passengers, said of the ruling at the time that it was a ‘huge win for travellers everywhere.’
Ryanair has been ordered to refund a passenger £124 after charging them for hand luggage, which it ruled to be an essential part of air travel
It is the latest case in a long-running battle between Spanish lawmakers and no-frills airlines, which transport millions of Brits to sunny holiday destinations in the country every year
Guijarro said: ‘It shows Ryanair can’t get away with treating passengers like walking ATMs.’
His defence of the passenger relied on Article 97 of Spain’s Air Navigation law, which stipulates that airlines are ‘obliged to transport not only the passenger, but also, and without charging anything for it, the objects and hand luggage that they carry’ with them.
‘They can only deny boarding of these items for security reasons, linked to the weight or size of the object, but in this case they were typical cabin suitcases’ that did not exceed 55x35x25cm’, he explained.
He said the airline had ignored previous complaints and requests, leaving his clients with no choice but to go to court, ‘aware of the discouragement that usually overwhelms most passengers.’
The court ruled that the airline had shown ‘recklessness’ in forcing the plaintiffs to go to court, and ordered that it also pay their legal fees.
In 2019, a Spanish court ruled that Ryanair’s policy of charging a fee for hand luggage was ‘abusive’ and that it should no longer be levied in the country.
But the carrier, which brought in the policy in 2018 and raked in millions of pounds by charging extra in its first year, refused to change its rules.
While judges have repeatedly ruled against airlines over the years, very few people have taken them to court, usually because of high legal costs and lengthy processes.
In 2019, a Spanish court ruled that Ryanair’s policy of charging a fee for hand luggage was ‘abusive’ and that it should no longer be levied in the country
The position of airlines and Spain’s Airline Association (ALA) is that charging for hand luggage is legal because it is enshrined in EU law.
This states that: ‘Community air carriers and, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, third country air carriers shall freely determine fares and rates for intra-Community air services’.
Aviation experts advise travellers that the only way to ensure they comply with the baggage restrictions imposed by all of the main carriers – without incurring an extra charge – is to have one small bag no bigger than 33x25x15cm.
In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson said: ‘Ryanair allows each passenger to carry a generous (40x25x20cm) personal bag on board as part of the basic air fare, with the option to add extra bags for an optional fee should they so wish.
‘This policy promotes both low fares and consumer choice, and is fully compliant with EU law, as upheld by several recent Spanish court rulings, including in Coruña, Segovia, Ontinyent, Seville, and Madrid.’
